


let me take care of you

by junwtfhoe



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Lowercase, M/M, Nonsense, Randomness, Right?, Strangers, im destroying the ao3 tags, is this fluff?, it's fluff, junbin is mentioned like once, yunhwan is also mentioned once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junwtfhoe/pseuds/junwtfhoe
Summary: a stressed out little bun named donghyuk goes to a cafe alone and that's where he'll meet a friendly little bun named bobby.(a sidestory to junwtfhoe's junbin twitter au)





	let me take care of you

**Author's Note:**

> okay i don't know what kind of story this is... but hey bear with me

"here's your coffee. enjoy." the waitress says in a singsong voice (which sounds too cheerful for him today) as she places the cup of dark and bitter liquid on the table, immediately leaving to serve the other customers.

donghyuk sits in solitary inside the cafe, facing the glass wall that gave him visual access to all the saccharine sweet and extremely annoying couples in the university grounds. he didn't even know why he chose to sit there and never has he felt as lonely as this. he usually was there with jinan, june, and chanu before the oldest graduated. the cafe that had been their usual hangout spot, and the tradition continued even after jinan's graduation.

except today his friends weren't there.

they were off to their dates with their respective lovers... except chanu who was thirdwheeling yunhyeong and jinan. it's funny how he had insisted to join the two on their date but donghyuk understands, yunhyeong and jinan were practically like chanu's parents already. he wished he could follow them but three was already a crowd so he didn't want to further distrupt their peace. he never wished that he could join the other couple though. he already is fed up with june and hanbin because he knows how the two can't take their eyes (and hands) off each other and due to that he wouldn't even dare to thirdwheel them. that would be asking for death by vomiting.

staring into the darkness of his black coffee, donghyuk purses his lips and sips on it, reminded of his love life. it was as dark and bitter as the coffee he was drinking, he thinks. he had been a busy bee since he was a child, he had never stopped participating in school projects and he was chosen as the student president in high school, which wasn't even the peak of his busyness but according to his memory, he was already tired enough from his duty. he never had time and he never even made time for love. as a highschool student, he always thought of love as a nuisance and he wouldn't even bother with it since he already had enough in his hands.

now that he was in university, he still is the dutiful student who was ready to be of service to the community and so he joined the student council solely for this purpose. never had he thought that he would be so overworked and stressed due to all the work in the student council. thinking of the members in the student council, he knew that almost all of them were in a relationship... almost all the members except him. even the student council representative for the first year students, dahyun, had somebody.

ever since his friends (cough, june and jinan, except chanu, cough) got themselves lovers, he felt lonelier than he had for the rest of the 21 years of his life. he thought that he could manage without a taste of love, aided by the presence of his friends, yet here he was drowning himself in the taste of the coffee which was equally bitter as his love life. he was lonely and he was stressed. such a good combination, isn't it?

he was stressed beyond comprehension, all he wanted was somebody to take care of him. ever since he got into university, it seems like the person who would take care of him gotten lesser. of course, he was living away from his family, and he missed them a damn lot. if only he could regularly visit them, probably his stress would dissipate little by little.

he tries to think of better things, yet his mind would going back to lingering around the thought that he was just another lonely-ass fuck in the middle of the thousands of people in the university. probably there are some people who are like donghyuk too, who had never experienced the taste of being in a relationship.

donghyuk feels unfamiliar with the concept of love, more specifically the concept of love between two people in a relationship. what does it feel like? how do you even know you're in love? and how do you even get somebody to fall in love with you?

shrugging, donghyuk takes another sip out of his coffee. i'm stupid for thinking of petty things like this, he thinks, i'm a busy man and i don't have time for this.

he never really even had crushes. the only time he thought he had a crush was that one time where he constantly felt giddy meeting the thai exchange student who happened to hover around him everytime the vice president, chaeyoung, was with him. it was only after a while that he realised that she had a crush on chaeyoung. they ended up dating after their graduation and lisa permanently moved to stay with chaeyoung. they're still together to this day. (and june teased him for this. fuck him.)

ah kim donghyuk, he thinks, you are so dumb in love. you don't even have the slightest experience. okay maybe people don't even want to look your way because you look so much like a living corspe. you work too hard, donghyuk-ah, but you deserve love too. you deserve someone to take care of you.

donghyuk continues to sip on his coffee, analysing the history of his love life. eh, there was nothing interesting.

looking around the cafe, donghyuk sighs seeing all the couples buzzing around his table like a swarm of bees. it's annoying enough to see loving couples and it gets more annoying when you're single and stressed and you're forced to look at them.

donghyuk sighs again, continuously drinking his coffee to soothe his chaotic mind. putting the cup on the table he sighs for the nth time as he mentally curses himself for not bringing a book to the cafe. he could have some quality alone time but here he was stressing over more couples.

it's okay, i probably can't even read in with this many people making noise here, donghyuk thinks, it's okay, donghyuk-ah.

bringing the cup to his lips, donghyuk sips the coffee again and looks through the glass wall, trying to enlighten himself from his thoughts by staring at the awkward cluster of the trees in the middle of the campus grounds. some fact says that staring at greenery could help calm the eyes, well, only the eyes not the mind but who cares about the fact, donghyuk can look at what he wants to look.

alas, his coffee has finished. donghyuk puts the cup on the table and sighs again. he thinks, how many times have i sighed? probably infinity. staring at his empty cup, he then raises his head up as his eyes search for the waitress that had just served him.

disappointed to see the waitress serving a customer at the far end of the cafe, donghyuk rests his elbows on the table and plops his chin onto his palms. he keeps his eyes on the waitress so he could call her over to refill his coffee, yet, a somehow familiar figure; pushing the glass door of the cafe open, distracts him.

now donghyuk's attention was averted from the waitress, and to the person who just came into the cafe. presumably, the person was a student as well, judging from the card dangling around his neck. it could be any card but donghyuk could only assume at the moment.

the way the person dressed slightly bothered donghyuk, as it was actually a little bit unusual. donghyuk scans the person from head to toe, he was wearing a blue graphic hoodie, with the hood over the black baseball cap on his head. his slightly washed out jeans were baggy and the detail that had caught donghyuk the most was... the rilakkuma plushie that had hung from one of his belt loops. the person looked like an ordinary university student but his sense of style definitely made him easy to pluck off from a sea of students.

unusual, donghyuk thought, who would wear a plushie as an accessory?

the person looked lost, his eyes searching for something donghyuk couldn't quite pinpoint what it exactly was. maybe it was an empty table since nearly all the tables in the cafe were occupied, either by a loving pair or a distressed university student (read : donghyuk).

he had kept his eyes on the person ever since he came in, so panic hit him when his eyes met the person's. the expression on the person's face was blank, and so was donghyuk's at the exact moment their eyes met. trying to play it cool, donghyuk blinks and turns away, trying to be as discreet as possible.

ah fuck that was awkward, donghyuk thinks, act natural donghyuk-ah, act natural.

he glances at the person and his panic multiplies as he sees the person striding towards him, with a swagger so distinct donghyuk thinks he could remember it for quite some time. at that time, donghyuk was silently wishing for the person to walk past him and onto the table that was unoccupied behind him yet there the person was, in front of him, already pulling the chair and unashamedly sitting right across him at the table.

"hi," the person says.

"do i know you?" donghyuk timidly blurts out, straigthening his sitting posture as he retracts his hands from being on the table.

"no," the person says, "i don't know you either."

"oh," donghyuk says, taking his cup and bringing it to his lips before finally remembering that it was empty. embarrassed, donghyuk slowly puts the cup down and acts as if anything didn't happen.

"but," the person says, "i think i know your name."

"really?" donghyuk says, raising an eyebrow, "then who am i?"

"kim donghyuk." the person says, scratching his chin as he tries to remember. "hi."

"well hi. i guess you know me because i'm the member of the student council." donghyuk blandly mutters, "i'm in charge of the student affairs department and i have to deal with humans everyday."

"well that sucks," the person says. "but i don't know you as the member of the student council. you're junhoe's friend, right?"

"people usually aren't interested in who i'm friends with," donghyuk tilts his head in confusion. "how do you know that?"

"i'm hanbin's friend." he says, pointing at himself with his index fingers. extending his hand, probably for a handshake, he says, "my name is kim jiwon, but everybody calls me bobby."

hm, good manners for someone who emits such an intimidating vibe like him, donghyuk thinks.

"donghyuk." donghyuk says, repeating his name as he shakes on bobby's hand. "pleased to meet you."

"you don't look pleased." bobby says, his brow raising, teasingly smiling at donghyuk.

"well, at least i'm being polite?" donghyuk shrugs, "what do you expect me to say?"

"i don't know." bobby says, smiling as he shrugs.

promptly, he calls for the waitress and places an order. the waitress notices donghyuk's empty cup and asks if he wanted a refill. donghyuk says yes and after the waitress goes away, they continue their conversation.

"why are you alone here anyway?" bobby asks donghyuk, gesturing towards him.

"can't i?" donghyuk says, refusing to disclose the fact that he was feeling lonely and miserable that day.

"nobody deserves to be alone, especially in a place like this," bobby says, gesturing outwards.

donghyuk understands. bobby was talking about the couples that filled the place, he probably understood how donghyuk was feeling slightly.

"it's kinda annoying," donghyuk says, "but i'll manage."

"you sure?" bobby says, smiling at donghyuk.

"100% sure." donghyuk replies, smiling back. "why are _you_ alone here by the way?"

"my friends are on a date but i guess you know that too." bobby answers him, a wistful look appearing in his eyes. "i feel lost. i don't know who i was supposed to hang out with because it seems like everybody is busy today. so i decided to go here by myself."

"you don't seem to be the person who likes to be alone." donghyuk says, smiling at bobby in pity. he understands how bobby feels, he was in the exact situation.

"i guess i don't, yeah." bobby says, lifting a corner of his mouth up, revealing his crooked teeth.

"oh yeah, how did you even know my name?" donghyuk asks, putting his hands on top of each other as if he was interviewing bobby. "and also how i look? you recognised me straight away."

shrugging again, bobby then stretches his arms out and lies back onto the chair, "junhoe always mentioned you to me and he even went as far to show your ID picture to me. he was always telling me that i should meet you because we'd be best friends, and how it was a pity i always missed meeting you because of your schedules."

"oh?" donghyuk mumbles, his brows raising and the corner of his lips slightly going up. it's unusual for him to hear junhoe talking about him like that, and deep inside, he feels his pride swelling, however, he doesn't let it get to him. "why though?"

"well, he said you were the one who gave him extra pushes when he was still trying to woo hanbin." he says, then bobby continues, "he said everybody should meet you."

slightly embarrassed, donghyuk shakes his head and smiles, he mutters, "that dumbass."

"it's weird y'know," bobby says, catching donghyuk's attention.

"what is?"

bobby leans in, resting his elbows on the surface of the table and lies his cheek on one of his palms, smiling at donghyuk, "it seems like fate doesn't want us to meet."

hearing bobby, donghyuk tilts his head, confused.

"everytime i'm there hanging out with them, you must be somewhere else doing either class or student council related stuff." bobby continues, still smiling at donghyuk. "and everytime i hear you were hanging out with them, i'll be somewhere else too."

donghyuk laughs, shaking his head, "that's some weird shit right there."

"it made me curious. it intrigued me." bobby says, no longer resting his cheek on his palm. his face turns serious and looking straight into donghyuk's eyes, he says, "i couldn't help but want to meet you."

donghyuk stops laughing, and returns bobby's gaze, looking into his eyes. donghyuk asks, "why?"

bobby's smile cancels out all the seriousness the both of them were in, saying, "no reason. all that 'we-were-supposed-to-meet-but-life-doesn't-let-us' shit just kinda irks me and it made me wanna meet you more. sort of like when you tell a kid to not do something, the kid will want to do it more."

donghyuk laughs at bobby's analogy, and he mutters, "you're interesting."

"sure," bobby replies, shrugging, "i know i'm not the best looking person but at least i am interesting."

"no, i didn't mean in like that," donghyuk says, instantly straightening his back up and waving his hands around to gesture 'no', "i really think you're interesting. maybe what junhoe said is true, we would be best friends. it's been only seconds but i think i do like talking to you."

"really?" bobby asks, a corner of his lips raising, "thanks then."

"i'm curious though," donghyuk tilts his head as he looks at bobby, "how did you even know i was here?"

and right that moment, the waitress comes, bringing donghyuk his coffee refill and bobby his lemonade. they wait for the waitress to go and only then, they continue their conversation.

"well," bobby starts, sipping on his lemonade then letting out little 'ahh' before continuing, "i saw you from outside the cafe and please don't freak out if i say i just straight away went inside because i wanted to meet you. i did initially want to go here though."

shaking his head again, donghyuk laughs, his whole body shaking as he does so. for the first time in a long time, donghyuk has never perceived something as so hilarious before. "wow, so somebody does want to meet me?"

"of course," bobby shrugs, once again sipping on his lemonade. "and that somebody is me. or probably a hundred other people more."

"that hundred other people more definitely wants to meet me for work purposes." donghyuk says, giving bobby a lopsided smile.

"you should stop thinking so much about work, the student council." bobby says, "have fun a little, let loose. because of that damned student council, i never even had the chance to meet you."

"hmm," donghyuk hums in contemplation, but before he could even voice his opinion out, bobby continues.

"when was the last time you really had fun?" bobby asks, then sips on his lemonade again.

"i..." donghyuk keeps his head down as he tries to rack his mind for any memory of him having actual fun. giving up, donghyuk says, "i actually don't remember."

"you've never actually had fun then," bobby says, shaking his head in disapproval. "that's sad."

"don't say it like that," donghyuk says, slightly fuming up. "it's not my fault that i work so much."

who was this person to boss me around like this? donghyuk thinks, it's not as if he wasn't even trying to have fun and enjoy life every now and then, but his duty just doesn't let him.

"i'm sorry if that came off as meddlesome but," bobby sighs, pausing, "i really wanna let you have a little fun, okay?"

"sure," donghyuk mumbles, "sorry for snapping at you. we don't even know each other but i acted like that."

donghyuk was about to put his hands around his coffee mug when a couple trying to make their way out of the cafe accidentally bump the table, causing the mug to topple intensely, spilling the scalding hot coffee onto donghyuk's hand.

"oh shit," donghyuk curses, waving his hand around as he tries to cool the burning sensation off.

"i'm sorry," the girlfriend says, her brows raised apologetically, "i should have watched where i was going."

"no, it's okay," donghyuk says, giving a reassuring smile to the girlfriend. then he turns to the boyfriend and says, "it's okay, really. you guys can go, i'll be okay."

the couple takes off after a few sorries, causing donghyuk to sigh in relief. at least they're gone, donghyuk thinks, i don't want to be a burden to people.

in all of a sudden, donghyuk feels his hand being touched lightly.

"let me look at that," bobby mutters, gently pulling donghyuk's hand. he inspects the burn right away, bringing it near to his lips and then blowing on the burned area.

as bobby blows on the burn, donghyuk could only stare at him. never has he felt a touch so soft and tender before, it was nearly like a caress. he keeps his eyes on bobby, bewildered by how such an intimidating person could have such a mellow touch. donghyuk holds his breath, enjoying the sensation of the pads of bobby's fingers on his and they sit there, silent as he continues to cool down the burn.

shit, donghyuk thinks, you don't even know this person that well but you're already giving in with only a touch of his fingers? you're unbelievable.

"um," donghyuk says, breaking the slightly awkward silence that previously hung in the air, "i think i can handle that myself, it's not even a severe burn."

"you sure?" bobby says, raising an eyebrow. despite his action, he sounded genuinely concerned for donghyuk.

"yeah," donghyuk says, trying to reassure him, "i'll just go to the toilet."

"let me-" bobby insists, yet his words were cut by donghyuk.

"it's okay. you don't have to act so concerned. we don't even know each other well." he blurts out with an awkward smile plastered on his face, "sorry."

making his way to the toilet, donghyuk shakes his head in disbelief. he was confused as to what bobby's real intention was. why was he so interested in donghyuk? why was he so caring towards donghyuk? why did he even want to involve himself in donghyuk's problems and personal life?

finally reaching the toilet, donghyuk occupies himself at one of the sinks. he turns the tap on and puts his hand under the running water. surely, this was more effective in curing a burn rather than absentmindedly blowing on the burn. only a small patch of skin on donghyuk's hand was burned, merely a square inch.

he didn't have to be so concerned, donghyuk thinks, he didn't have to make me feel like somebody did care for me.

shaking his head, donghyuk chuckles and tries to shake the thought off.

outside the toilet, bobby was panicking. truthfully, he had a crush on donghyuk... or something that was equivalent to a crush. even he didn't know how to describe it. he doesn't even know donghyuk that well, yes, but everytime junhoe mentions donghyuk to him, he gets so intruiged by the busy bee of a friend hanbin's boyfriend has. he wanted to help donghyuk, he wanted to let him taste fun since he seemed like a really hardworking and no-nonsense kind of person.

yet he messed up, or so he thinks. bobby knew he came off as meddlesome, he realised that because of the way donghyuk had reacted to him. he buries his face in his palms, panicking even more at his action. why did he have to do that? when the hot coffee spilled on donghyuk's hand, bobby's first reaction was to grab his hand and blow on it. he usually did this to hanbin everytime hanbin has little injuries. call him childish for doing so but it has been a sort of thing for bobby to do.

nervously wrapping his fingers around his drink, bobby brings it up to his lips and sips his lemonade continuously as he tries to calm himself. alas, donghyuk walks out from the toilet, without giving any chance for bobby to gather his thoughts.

"sorry" donghyuk says as he pulls the chair and sits, "everything is fine now. it's barely a burn."

"don't be sorry," bobby replies, putting down his drink, "i acted so suddenly, i should be sorry for that."

"it's okay. i don't mind, i like it anyway." donghyuk mumbles, shrugging. it is still audible to bobby so as soon as he hears donghyuk, he smiles.

"about telling you to have fun just now..." bobby says, biting his lower lip in nervousness, "sorry for that too."

hearing bobby, donghyuk's eyes instantly lit up and so donghyuk looks at him, his mouth breaking into a smile.

"about that," donghyuk mutters, putting his hands around the coffee mug, "maybe i should let loose and have fun a little. i'm nearly always stressed and i think... maybe it's time for me to enjoy things more."

bobby smiles after hearing the words uttered by donghyuk. he doesn't even know why he felt his stomach flipping when donghyuk agrees with him.

"you'll be with me, right?" donghyuk says, his eyes softening as he looks at bobby, "i don't know a shit about how people do have fun."

"of course i'll be with you," bobby says, his brows furrowing, "and don't worry, i'll guide you along the way. also i'm not that fond of things like parties or such although i do attend them so..."

"that's okay," donghyuk tries to reassure bobby, smiling at him, "me too, by the way."

"okay then," donghyuk says, leaning in closer to bobby, "teach me how to have fun."

smiling, bobby shakes his head in disbelief and looks back at donghyuk, "let's get out of here then."

quickly, donghyuk and bobby pay for their drinks and make their way out of the cafe, discarding the nervousness they have in the presence of each other; they were practically strangers.

they quickly glance at each other in absurdity and laugh, knowing that whole new world full of possibilities was waiting for them.

**Author's Note:**

> also... have you noticed i have like a lot of fics set in a cafe/coffee shop... afterhours happened in a cafe... milkshakes happened in a cafe... this happened in a cafe too... i have a thing for cafes omg lmaooooo


End file.
